Dec. 1989 freeze photos

[Eric in Orlando]

I can't remember if I have posted these but here are some photos from Jan. 1990, a month after the Christmas 1989 freeze here at Leu Gardens. It dropped to 19-20F 2 nights and it was below 32F for many hours.

These were on old slides I had put onto a CD.

from left to right; Syagrus romanzoffiana (killed), Dypsis decaryi (killed) X Butiagrus (no damage), Cycas revoluta (defoliated but survived), the trees were Koelreuteria elegans ssp. formosana (trees survived, just foliage was burned)

from left to right; Dioon mejiae (some burn), Dioon merolae (little burn), Cycas rumphii (killed to ground but resprouted, now are about the same size)

from left to right; Cycas revoluta (defoliated, survived), Zamia furfuracea (defoliated, survived), Roystonea regia (killed)

[DoomsDave]

O U C H ! ! !

Shades of the Big H, in January 2007, just in time for our local Palm Society meeting!

The place looked great when I was there last December . . . . .

dave

[PalmGuyWC]

Eric,

Those pictures bring tears to my eyes.  My garden looked the same way. Took two or three years for some of the palms to recover, and a few didn't, but surprisingly most did.

Dick

[ghar41]

Time and again, the cycads prove to be amazingly tolerant of cold.  D. mejiae and merolae are really beautiful cycads.

I believe they should be more widely planted.

Thanks for the photo.  

[gsn]

Was that a FIRE,  or freeze damage? ::

Eric  all I can say is, I am really glad you waited until March to put those pics up.I would have had nightmares all winter,if you had put them up in December!

[osideterry]

The last week in '89 through first week of '90 was an almost national record freeze. The Oceanside airport reported 20F at the time. It explains why there are no king palms in my neighborhood more than 18-20 ft tall.

Strange how I lived in Orange County at the time, yet I don't remember it.

[Daryl]

Ouch..looks like somebody got out the 'super-roundup' sure must have been old to do that kind of damage.

Daryl

[paulgila]

looks like my yard after last years socal freeze

[Really full garden]

I was moving to Guatemala during this freeze event and had just sold my large collection of Ceratozamias ten days before this freeze hit.Some of my neighbors actually spray painted their cycas revolutas with green paint and they looked pretty good.

[FRITO]

wow. thanks for these photos. I was too young and lived in south florida to remember this freeze but it sure put a hurting on a lot of the landscapes.

the rumphi are huge... never seen a group that large before.

good ol butiagrus.... after shots of these plants by chance? I love before and afters.

[JakeK]

man those pictures are bad. practically everything was burnt to a crisp. Were there any hardiness surprises from that freeze?

[Jeff Searle]

Eric,

   Those were some really intersting pictures taken after the damage showed up. I remember the 89 freeze as if it was yesterday. I had Phoenix roeb. that turned so brown, it looked like someone put a blowtorch to them. And you know how far south I am. I think it really was the hundred year freeze of the century. Thanks,

Jeff

[Central Floridave]

Lets hope we never get another freeze like that again...

Photo from Leu last weekend.  Not cold tolerant Salacca

[surgeon83]

(scottgt @ Mar. 11 2008,16:21)

QUOTE

Some of my neighbors actually spray painted their cycas revolutas with green paint and they looked pretty good.

That's pretty funny.  Might as well, though, otherwise they would look like crap for a year or two before the next flush, plus I'm sure those leaves took forever to decompose.

[Jimbean]

I was very young then, in fact I remember my mother putting layers of cloths on.

I guy I know in Port St. John said that he recorded a 19 F temperature in '89

I believe that is our all time record low around here.

[Eric in Orlando]

(Jeff Searle @ Mar. 11 2008,21:24)

QUOTE

Eric,

   Those were some really intersting pictures taken after the damage showed up. I remember the 89 freeze as if it was yesterday. I had Phoenix roeb. that turned so brown, it looked like someone put a blowtorch to them. And you know how far south I am. I think it really was the hundred year freeze of the century. Thanks,

Jeff

Wow, hard to believe P. roebelenii burned that far south. How did coconuts fare? Just about all P. roebelenii were wiped out unless it was a hybrid. I remember after the big freezes in 12/83 and 1/85 that many P. roebelenii and Syagrus romanzoffiana were killed or severely damaged but many were replanted in between 1/85 and 12/89. Then the big '89 freeze killed them again. It was several years before they started showing up in landscapes again. I mowed a ladies yard back around 83-85 when I was in high school. She had a huge P. roebelenii, maybe 7-8ft of clear trunk and it was killed after the 12/83 freeze. She also had about 20 mature S. romanzoffiana including one that had to be 50-60 ft tall, about half died, the others were defoliated but were killed the next winter with the 1/85 freeze. She also had 10-15ft crotons all around here house and they died down to the roots. She said all this had been planted back in the 1940s when they had the house built. Her whole yard was devastated as it was mostly tropicals; Bauhinia, avocados, mangos, citrus, Melaleuca, Jacaranda, etc.

I was in high school during the 83 and 85 freezes and out working for a nursery when the 89 freeze hit. It is still vivid memories of how torched it looked around here.

[Eric in Orlando]

(FRITO @ Mar. 11 2008,19:11)

QUOTE

wow. thanks for these photos. I was too young and lived in south florida to remember this freeze but it sure put a hurting on a lot of the landscapes.

the rumphi are huge... never seen a group that large before.

good ol butiagrus.... after shots of these plants by chance? I love before and afters.

I have some photos of some of the plants now. That X Butiagrus was moved about 10 years ago when we rearranged the Palm Garden. Where the Dypsis behind is, that is where our huge Bismarckia is growing. It was planted a few months after in spring of '90. That was a couple years before I started working here.

Here is the X Butiagrus (in a different location);

this is looking at the same spot where the Dypsis and X Butiagrus had been. The Bismarckia is growing where the Dypsis was, at the far bottom right there is part of a palmate leaf (Borassus madagascariensis), this is where the X Butiagrus had been

Here are the clumps of Cycas rumphii, they came back from the roots

here is the Zamia furfuracea

[Eric in Orlando]

(JakeK @ Mar. 11 2008,19:20)

QUOTE

man those pictures are bad. practically everything was burnt to a crisp. Were there any hardiness surprises from that freeze?

There were a few but there wasn't a big palm collection here at the time.

This Attalea rostrata survived, it was planted in 1973. An Arenga pinnata next to it survived also but it has since flowered and died several years ago. Hard to believe when not to far away all the Syagrus romanzoffiana were killed

one of the few Syagrus romanzoffiana that survived, it has a robust trunk and has easliy 40ft of clear trunk now

these Acrocomia aculeata were not here back then but the parent was. An A. aculeata and a A. totai both survived (the A. aculeata was defoliated) but were killed by ganoderma a couple of years later. These 2 A. aculeata sprouted from seeds in 1993 where the parent had grown and were 30ft within 5 years

here is a A. totai that sprouted from a seed. The parent was another A. totai elesewhere in the Garden that had survived but died in in '90 or '91 from Ganoderma. This is the palm on the left, the palms on the right are Syagrus romanzoffiana that sprouted in situ where parents killed in the freeze had grown. This is near the front entrance and near the fenceline. There are about a dozen other A. totai in neighbors yards that have sprouted from our seeds. Don't know what distributed them 1-2 blocks away

[Eric in Orlando]

This Coccothrinax was planted in 1985 so it survived the 12/89 freeze, it is thought to maybe be a stiff leaf form of C. argentata (the palm with the thin, bare trunk)

2 big clumps of Caryota mitis froze to the roots but came back, this is one;

this Arenga engleri survived with little burn, it is the hardier form from the Ryukyu Islands

these A. engleri are the more tender form from Taiwan, they were severely burnt and many stems died back

[Eric in Orlando]

This Dypsis lutescens froze to the ground but came back from the roots (it also was killed mostly back in 2/96 after 26F)

this large clump of Acoelorrhaphe wrightii was killed to back but resprouted

big clumps of Rhapis excelsa all over the Garden froze to the roots but R. humilis wasn't damaged

R. humilis

Phoenix reclinata froze down but came back

[PalmGuyWC]

Eric,

Those freeze damage shots are great. Maybe you should have published them before the winter of '07 in Calif. Seems like most people have just replaced the same palms they lost last year. The Butiagrus really stands out among the other brown palms. I'm headed for Dallas today, and don't know what I'll see there, but some hardy palms, I'm sure.

Dick

[Eric in Orlando]

A couple more....

Phoenix roebelenii x reclinata, froze back but regrew

an old Sabal causiarum that survived

old Livistona chinensis

Chamaedorea microspadix had only minor burn

Here is what was killed that they were growing back then;

Archontophoenix cunninghamiana

Cocos nucifera

Dypsis decaryi

Livistona mariae

Phoenix roebelenii

Ptychosperma elegans

Roystonea regia

Syagrus romazoffiana (most)

Syagrus schizophylla

[fastfeat]

Great before and after shots Eric.

Have any of woody stuff (Ceiba/Chorisia, etc?) that survived?

[Eric in Orlando]

These all froze to the roots but came back

Ficus auriculata

Kigelia pinnata- Sausage Tree

Markhamia lutea

[Eric in Orlando]

Ceiba (Chorisia) speciosa- Floss Silk Tree

Tabebuia umbellata

Bischofia javanica- Toog Tree

There was a huge Peltophorum dubium that only had canopy damage but a previous manager (before I came)

had it removed because he didn't like it along with a huge Jacaranda and Melaleuca (all planted by Mr. Leu). A few other things like Bauhinia variegata, B. variegata 'Candida', Inga sp., Persea americana, Syzygium jambos, Bauhinia forficata and Cinnamomum aromaticum and Phyllanthus juglandifolius.

Used to be 2 big Ceiba pentandra according to an article in the 1960s (when this was still a private estate) but no record of what happened to them.

[fastfeat]

Thanks Eric. That T. umbellata is spectacular.

[Kris]

Dear Eric  

thanks for the visual delight...lovely varities i have not seen much of them here !

lots of love,

Kris  

[FRITO]

Eric, great coverage once again. the Acoelorrhaphe wrightii clump is awesome.

that along with the Rykuku island form af A engleri is some thing I definently need to add to my garden. and the mysterious cham microspadix

[bubba]

Eric,Tremendous pictures of before/after 1989.The Leu Gardens is very lucky to have you.

[_Keith]

Thanks.  This gives much faith to those of us who grow palms on the colder side of things.

Keith

[DoomsDave]

Nothing like rebirth!

Hmm.

Liue maybe should be changed to "Jardin de Lazarus . . . . "

[Palmarum]

These are amazing photos Eric and it is astounding on how fast some palms and plants can recover. I hope the garden goes a long time without another freeze. When I first read the title of your topic, this photo came to mind. I noticed it while organizing some of Jeff's old photos. It was also taken during the painful '89 Freeze at Searle Brothers Nursery, Inc.

Ryan

[_Keith]

Eric,

  Those were some really intersting pictures taken after the damage showed up. I remember the 89 freeze as if it was yesterday. I had Phoenix roeb. that turned so brown, it looked like someone put a blowtorch to them. And you know how far south I am. I think it really was the hundred year freeze of the century. Thanks,

Jeff

While I do agree these freezes are not everyday, I think they are more common than most think.  

In addition to 89, there were freezes in 63 and 83 that were nearly as bad.  

It seems I remember in reading David Fairchild's book that he talked about 2 devastating freezes in So. Miami between somewhere between 1910 and 1930.  I am guessing on this one, but should not be too far off.   I owe that book a re-read, since I have visited the Kampong after the first read.

At any rate, that being given, that would be 5 fairly horrendous freezes in the 1900s or on average one every 20 years.

[Joe palma]

Oh man! That looks cold as heck Ryan! Glad I've never experienced anything like that whilst growing palms.

Incredible picture! Bet Jeff was freaking out although he is smiling!

Great pics Eric. I agree w/ Daryl that some of those look like someone dumped a bunch of round-up on those buggers. What a bummer but glad to see that some actually made it through.

Good job posting guys. Cool pics.

[fastfeat]

(Palmarum @ Mar. 13 2008,17:50)

QUOTE

These are amazing photos Eric and it is astounding on how fast some palms and plants can recover. I hope the garden goes a long time without another freeze. When I first read the title of your topic, this photo came to mind. I noticed it while organizing some of Jeff's old photos. It was also taken during the painful '89 Freeze at Searle Brothers Nursery, Inc.

Ryan

Jeff--

Where did you get that ski cap?? Tough to find those in SoFla, aren't they?

[Alan_Tampa]

1934,  1957-58', 1962-63' - Bad ones.  Also, 1977.  1962-63' set all time low of 18F for Tampa, changed the face of citrus and the lychee industry (at that time big around  Laurel (Sarasota, Venice) "Moved" the citrus belt south and finished the central Florida lychee biz as it was still recovering from the 1958 freezes.  Lychees are now grown further south with some production on Pine Island currently.  Mexico is now doing the industry no good.  (As a historical note, lychees came to Florida in about the 1880s or 1890s.)  

Lychees are pretty good indicator of climate, they are good to about 28F or so with little damage 25F with bad damage and the need to grow from the ground at about 22F.  Big ones do better that little ones. Interestly enough (to me anyway) growers in China report lychees taking down to 20F without damage, something to do with more dormant dormancy.  Sorry to go on like this but I cannot help it.

Don't forget that crap in 1996 either.

Some big lychee trees from these early groves can still be found in the  Bradenton area from these days if you look hard.

I say this junk just for giggles - but it does illustrate Florida's wacky weather and how it changes not only what hobbyists can 'get away with' but what kind of havoc it can do to agriculture here in the state.

I collected icicles on Siesta Key on Christmas Day 1984.  Not their normal habitat.

Alan

[Jeff Searle]

(Palmarum @ Mar. 13 2008,17:50)

QUOTE

These are amazing photos Eric and it is astounding on how fast some palms and plants can recover. I hope the garden goes a long time without another freeze. When I first read the title of your topic, this photo came to mind. I noticed it while organizing some of Jeff's old photos. It was also taken during the painful '89 Freeze at Searle Brothers Nursery, Inc.

Ryan

To all,

     I haven't seen this picture in many years, I look at it and really think hard about when this happened. All that comes to mind is that I would loose most of my palm collection as I know it if I had it back then, and it's pretty f#&%ing scarry how much ice is on those plants! Damn!

Jeff

[Eric in Orlando]

Wow Jeff, you'd swear by that photo that you owned a perennial nursery in Indiana!

Hope we never have an '89 freeze again (or '83 or '85)

[www.dadluvsu.com]

The big question is, how are you smiling in that pic? ???

[aztropic]

I was living in Datona Beach during the 89 freeze and remember that this Phoenix canariensis completely defoliated.There was nothing wrong with the trunk at that time.Today,the tree still stands;minus the northern 2/3 of its trunk. (those queens were not there in 89)

aztropic

Mesa,Arizona